To investigate optimal condition of acid-catalyzed hydrothermal hydrolysis of Laminaria japonica, the main constituentsof Laminaria japonica such as cellulose, alginic acid and mannitol were hydrolyzed using acid-catalyzed hydrothermalreaction. Then, we proposed the re-designed experimental method including the predicted optimal conditions of the mainconstituents and performed acid-catalyzed hydrothermal hydrolysis of Laminaria japonica. The coefficients ofdetermination (R2) of Y5 (yield of reducing sugar from Laminaria japonica) were 0.877. P values of Y5 were 0.002,indicating significance, within 1% (p<0.01). The optimum reaction condition for acid-catalyzed hydrothermal hydrolysisof Laminaria japonica determined by the response surface methodology is 143.65oC of reaction temperature, 22min ofreaction time, hydrochloric acid concentration 0.108N, resulting in a production rate of 115.62mg/g-Laminaria japonica.

In this study, we attempted to solubilize protein in slaughter blood (SB) using ultrasonic technology. The application of ultrasonic technology can make enzymatic degradation of SB more effective, which has no comparable alternative for treatment. The SB was homogenized by grinding it for 10 minutes at 10,000 rpm as a pretreatment for preventing its clotting, and then ultrasonic treatment was attempted to solubilize protein in SB. To maximize the efficiency of ultrasonic treatment for SB, the optimum condition of ultrasonic frequency (UF) was determined to be 20 kHz. To optimize the operation conditions of ultrasonification with 20 kHz of frequency, we used response surface methodology (RSM) based on ultrasonic density (UD) and ultrasonification time (UT). The solubilization rate (SR) of protein (%) was calculated to be 101.304 - 19.4205 X1 + 0.0398X2 + 7.9411X12 + 0.0001X22 + 0.0455X1X2. From the results of the RSM study, the optimum conditions of UD and UT were determined at 0.5 W/mL and 22 minutes, respectively, and SB treated under these conditions was estimated to have a 95% SR. Also, experimentally, a 95.53% SR was observed under same conditions, accurately reflecting the theoretical prediction of 95%.

In this study, phytocapping which was widely and deeply studied in USA and Australia was investigated among the methane oxidation technology for the surface emission reduction, and the consideration matter to apply the technology was also suggested. The selection of plants to be suitable in climate and soil condition is the key factor when phytocapping would be introduced. In the United States, a fast growing, perennial and deep-rooting tree species are used for landfill covers or contaminated soil areas, and even understory grasses are chosen based on regional characteristics. However this phytocapping would have regional limitation, especially precipitation is an important environmental factor.

This study aimed to investigate the optimal enzymatic hydrolysis conditions of alginic acid using Viscozyme® L, Celluclast® 1.5L, Saczyme®, Novozym®, Fungamyl® 800L, Driselase® Basidiomycetes sp., and Alginate Lyase, for production of reducing sugar. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite rotatable design was used to study effects of the independent variables such as enzyme (1-9% v/w), reaction time (10-30 h), pH (3-7) and reaction temperature (30-70oC) on the production of reducing sugar from alginic acid. The coefficients of determination (R2) of Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, Y5, Y6, and Y7 for the dependent variable regression equation were analyzed as 0.947 0.968, 0.840, 0.926, 0.923, 0.892 and 0.825. And the p-value of Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, Y5, Y6, and Y7 within 1% (p < 0.01) was very significant. The optimal conditions were 1.0% of the quantity of the enzyme, 10.0 hours of the response time, pH 3 and 70.0oC of the reaction temperature, where the production rate was 483.1 mg/g-alginic acid, the highest of all the enzymes used.

Acid hydrolysis of cellulose using hydrothermal reaction was conducted to maximize reducing sugar concentration and the response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to study the effects of independent variables, such as reaction temperature (116 ~ 184oC), reaction time (12 ~ 28 min) and hydrochloric acid concentration (HCl, 0.0159 ~ 0.1841 N) on reducing sugar concentration and production yield from the cellulose. With the optimum conditions of the acid-catalyzed hydrothermal hydrolysis, the reducing sugar (RS) was obtained as 369.14 mg-RS/g-cellulose in 172.77oC of the reaction temperature, 28.41 min of the reaction time and 0.067 N of the hydrochloric acid concentration. The glucose (Glu) was obtained as 281.94 mg-Glu/g-cellulose in 154.70oC of the reaction temperature, 11.59 min of the reaction time and 0.184 N of the hydrochloric acid concentration.

A food waste disposer is an electrically powered device installed under a kitchen sink. It is located between the sink’s drain and the trap which shreds food waste into tiny pieces so that they can go through plumbing. Use of this unit is convenient and hygienic for discharging food waste in kitchen. Nevertheless, this unit has been illegal until now in Korea because of both conflict with the government’s policy-resource recovery from food waste-and perceived threat to the city’s sewer system. An attempt was made recently to meet growing need to introduce this unit for advantage of using disposer and maintenance of sewer system, etc. So an attempt was made to introduce the food waste disposer system of ‘treatment type before discharging to sewer’, but it was inappropriate for conditions in Korean. In this study, we developed a suitable disposer system for Korea based on an innovative solid recovery technology. And continuous operating experiments were carried out to evaluate the performance of the system for 18 days. The amount of food waste fed into the system was equivalent to the daily amount of food waste made from 30 households living in apartment units, which was calculated to be 14.44 kg/day. After grinding, SS/TS of food waste was 60 percent and it was the maximum amount of solid that could be recovered using this system. In the system of solid collection type using screw press, more than 70 percent of suspended solids were recovered. And less than 20 percent of total soilds were discharged through wastewater and it satisfied the legal standard of Korea. This novel food waste disposer system will satisfy with both the government’s environmental policy and higher quality resource recovery from food waste in the facilities.

Sugar, starch and lignocellulosic biomass has been mainly used as raw materials for the production of the bioethanol. However, the sharp fluctuation of grain prices, a threat of world famine, and hardly biodegradable substance like lignin contained in lignocellulosic materials make the pre-processing of the biomass complicated in several aspects. As a result, the focus of attention has now shifted to the ‘third biomass’ such as algae, which has a high value of energy recovery. In this study, a kind of macroalgae and its characteristic were surveyed and then, the physical, biological, chemical, combined, and hydrothermal pretreatments for its hydrolysis were deeply considered. Consequently, the macroalgae could be more effectively hydrolyzed at the combined process such as the hydrothermal-chemical or biological treatment, chemical-biological treatment and so on than the single process like the biological pretreatment.

This study was conducted to provide the basic information to know reasonable method for the removal and treatment of municipal solid wastes(MSWs). MSWs four different sources(apartment, residence, commerce, office/industry) in Daegu city were collected, and bulk density, physical composition, moisture, combustible, ash, elements and heating values were investigated. The values of bulk density were at range of 0.30～0.41ton/m3. The percentages of foods, papers, vinyls/plastics, textiles, rubbers/leathers, metals and glasses/ceramics of wet muncipal solid wastes from three sources except office/industry were at range of 27.3～46.4%, 21.2～38.4%, 10.3～11.9%, 3.8～5.2%, 0.5～1.7%, 6.9～8.7% and 1.9～2.6% respectively. The percentages of papers, foods, vinyls/plastics, textiles, rubbers/leathers, metals and glasses/ceramics of dry muncipal solid wastes from three sources except office/industry were at range of 21.1～40.4%, 14.2～30.1%, 15.2～17.8%, 4.0～6.0%, 0.9～2.8%, 12.2～14.1% and 3.1～3.7% respectively. The moisture contents of foods, woods, textiles and papers in wastes were at range of 65.7～76.2%, 34.6～50.0%, 22.2～44.8 and 30.6～44.4% respectively. The carbon contents of vinyls/plastics, rubbers/leathers, textiles, woods, papers and foods in wastes were at range of 75.88～79.87%, 58.24～70.74%, 45.23～51.63%, 42.29～45.58%, 40.19～48.4% and 25.86～36.25% respectively. The low heating values of foods, papers, woods, textiles, rubbers/leathers and vinyls/plastics by Dulong's law were at range of 178～1,353kcal/kg, 770～1,660kcal/kg, 995～1,629kcal/kg, 2,133～2,432kcal/kg, 4,200～7,275 kcal/kg and 6,384～8,722kcal/kg respectively, and the high heating values of them were at range of 782～2,056 kcal/kg, 2,459～3,314kcal/kg, 3,056～3,592kcal/kg, 4,381～5,087kcal/kg, 5,005～8,066kcal/kg and 10,032～10,739 kcal/kg respectively.

In order to provide the basic information on the environmental pollution of Kyungsan province, the contents of Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn and Zn in soil, stream water, aquatic sediment and groundwater were investigated, and also the values of pH, COD, KMnO4-C, NH3-N, NO2-N, NO3-N and Cl- of stream water and groundwater were determined. The results were as follows. The values of COD, NH3-N, NO2-N and NO3-N of the stream waters were very low. The contents of Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu and Zn in the stream waters were respectively at range of 0.014～0.063 ㎎/ℓ, 0.004～0.007 ㎎/ℓ, 0～0.045 ㎎/ℓ, 0～0.008 ㎎/ℓ and 0.001～0.175 ㎎/ℓ, and these values were much lower than those of contaminated stream water in Korea. The contents of Cd, Cr, Cu and Zn in the soils were respectively at range of 0.12～0.71 ppm, 0.88～2.65 ppm, 2.86～22.33 ppm and 3.89～26.39 ppm, and these values were much lower than those of ordinary polluted areas in Korea. The contents of Cd, Cr, Cu, As, Zn and Mn in the aquatic sediments were respectively at range of 3.05～3.81 ppm, 14.6～70.6 ppm, 13.74～61.59 ppm, 76.8～465.5 ppm, 12.56～190.83 ppm and 333.3～1188.3 ppm. The values of pH, KMnO4-C, NH3-N and NO3-N of the groundwaters were respectively at range of 7.6～8.4, 0～3.95 ㎖, 0.05～0.15 ㎎/ℓ and 0.05～0.42 ㎎/ℓ. The contents of Pb, Cd and Cr in the groundwaters were respectively at range of 0.015～0.061 ㎎/ℓ, 0.006～0.009 ㎎/ℓ and 0.005～0.045 ㎎/ℓ.